Say What Now? 50,000 Americans’ IRS Files Were Stolen — Much Higher Than Previously Acknowledged

Charles Littlejohn faced a single felony charge for leaking the tax information of 50,000 Americans.

A victim of the largest theft of private taxpayer information claimed Charles Littlejohn stole the individual and business tax information of up to 70,000 people.

The reality of tens of thousands of victims was far different from what the IRS initially let on, who said Littlejohn’s crimes effected “thousands” of individuals.

In an opinion column for the Wall Street Journal, author Ira Stoll wrote about being alerted by the U.S. Treasury Department about their company’s tax return being among the thousands leaked by the IRS thief, who disclosed the information to news outlets, including ProRepublica and The New York Times.

While notable celebrities said to be impacted by Littlejohn’s crimes included LeBron James, Taylor Swift, Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods — and Donald Trump, it’s now been revealed that tens of thousands other citizens were also included in the leak.

Stolen files included years of tax returns, audits, gambling losses, details of stock trades and medical expense deductions.

Despite the severity of the former IRS contractor’s crimes — and prosecutors noting the breach was “unparalleled in the IRS’s history” — Littlejohn ended up pleading guilty to just one felony count of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information.

Littlejohn received just five years behind bars. Despite media attention around Trump’s tax information being included in the leak, the ex-IRS contractor was not formally charged with stealing the ex-president’s information due to the statute of limitations being reached on that particular threat.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes questioned why Littlejohn faced a single count — which effectively lumped the estimated 50,000 and 70,000 victims together — and imposed an additional three years of supervised release and a $5,000 fine.

via: RadarOnline.com

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